Friday, May 24, 2013

Nutella Macarons

Macarons.. my nemesis which made me fail twice. Today, we did another attempt at Sharron's place and I'm thrilled to present these Nutella Macarons to you. I'll be doing another blog posts on the possible reasons why macarons fail based on what I've experienced so far. In any case, these are by far the toughest things to bake due to the many technicality issues to combat when baking them. Every step requires somewhat some precision.

I'm not gonna lie to you. They're not easy to bake. I've failed these French macarons twice myself and this method/recipe that I've used today is troublesome.. But, what's a little work for these precious gems that are sold at $3.80 a pop from Ladurée? Even a decent one from Bakerzin or Canelé costs $2.50! But! These methods and recipe that I've worked out after 2 times of failing should work real well. So.. click on and learn more! I did not photograph each step of the recipe but I will do so soon.. so do come back and check this page for a detailed image to image recipe!

The recipe is rated difficulty level 5 out of 5 and takes about 1 h 30 mins in all to complete. Recipe proportions were taken from a recipe that Sharron had but methods were assisted by some guidance advised by Jong (:

4) Place the egg white in a clean and dry bowl. Add a small pinch of corn flour. Add in a small portion of yellow food colouring. (The egg whites should be really bright yellow as the macaron will brown a little when baked so the yellow won't show through as much).

5) Whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks.

6) Take 1/3 of the meringue and fold it into the almond mixture. It will look odd and clumpy but fret not.

7) Add in remaining meringue and fold it into the mixture. It will start to look clumpy. Tilt/scrape all contents onto one side of the bowl and smear it against the sides while folding it in. It should take about 40 -50 folds. This is just a gauge though.. It truly depends on how you fold the batter. Fold it till you get to a ribbon stage. The more you fold, the more ribbon-like it will become. Be careful not to over fold. Mixture will look glossy and be ribbon-like when it is ready.

8) Scoop into piping bag fitted with a round tip.

9) Pipe onto bake tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Your rounds should be about 2.5cm in diameter (or the size of a 50-cent Singapore coin) and should be spaced apart as they will spread.

10) Tap the baking tray about 5 times on a hard surface to release air bubbles and spread the 'nipples' on the macaron.

11) Repeat on all 3 other sides of the baking tray. Repeat if necessary or till there are no more nipples and air bubbles on the surface of the macaron. You may use a toothpick to gently 'burst' the bubbles on the surface.

12) Preheat oven for 5 minutes at 200 degree Celsius.

13) TURN OFF the oven and pop the baking tray into the oven. DO NOT close the oven door completely. Leave a small gap of about 5cm to allow some heat to escape. This will aid in the drying of the macarons. This is especially effective for humid climates like what I have in Singapore. Allow macaron to dry for 5 minutes. Check for drying of the macaron shell by gently touching the surface of the macaron. If it is not dry and 'shell-like' yet. Remove from oven and preheat oven for another 5 minutes.

19) When you are pleased with the 'feet', turn the heat back down to 160 degree Celsius and bake for another 3 minutes before bringing temperature down to 150 degree Celsius. Bake for a total of 14 minutes from the time you start your timer.

20) Remove baking tray and slide baking sheet off the baking tray and allow them to cool on a baking rack.

21) When cool, gently peel macarons off baking paper. Match macarons that are of the same size for assembly.

22) Have nutella in a piping bag.

23) Pipe nutella on the insides of one macaron. Cover with the other shell.

24) If possible, refrigerate in the fridge overnight to allow the flavours to meld together.

So there you have it.. Nutella Macarons! (: Enjoy these lovely treats! (:

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (:

I failed mine :(Maybe I shall try out your recipe.The recipe i used is without any flour, maybe i ask your "A pinch of corn flour" is about how much? 1tsp or more?and the icing sugar you use is it pure icing sugar or those normal icing sugar which have starch premixed in?

I failed so many times until I tried ur recipe! And I have succeeded everytime since. :) thank you so much. The thing that worked for me was the drying part. Leaving them to dry in the oven worked miracles. But I prefer to mix the dry ingredients into the egg white. That worked better for me.

My apologies but I wont be able to advise you on the quantity as the recipe calls for food colouring. Should you replace it with occoa powder, the flour quantity will change, affecting the outcome of the product especially since macarons are really sensitive.

Hi Cynthia. Thanks for the drying tip, it works.I wonder if there's an easier way, such as setting the oven to 80 degC with door open slightly and fan blowing for 5 min or more?Have you tried other ways? Thanks again.

Hello Cynthia , May I ask whether is my oven able to bake macaron ? I doesn't know what is fan force oven , mine is rowenta oc3838 . And sorry to ask , upper and lower element is it a must for baking ?

Thanks for ur drying and temperature controllingb instructions. It really works even with a different recipe. Had failed multiple times due to crack shell or no feet till I read ur blog. Will try to bake different flavour next time :). Thanks once again.

I usually whisk at high speeds. You may want to whisk at high/med speed and reduce the speed as it's nearing stiff peaks to allow the bubbles to be 'burst'.. or go med speed throughout the entire whisking.

Hi! Do you know how many days in advance can we put the shells in room temperature (air tight container)? I am planning for my daughter's birthday, and I can't bake so many things all at one go *sweats* haha thanks!